Why do black swans have such elaborately curled wing feathers?

Black swans are the only member of the swan family to sport a ruffle of curled feathers on their wings. These curled feathers occur in both males and females, and are prominently displayed during social interactions. We found that these feathers play a role in both sexual and social contexts – swans endowed with more of these feathers are more likely to find a mate, and they also tend to win fights. Males and females of similar display ‘status’ tend to pair up, creating a society with a hierarchy of ‘mutual admiration’. For more details, please consult the article below:

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An adult male swan is called a cob (from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group). An adult female swan is called a pen, and baby swans are called cygnets (from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little").

2015-05-11T02:20:03+00:00

An adult male swan is called a cob (from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group). An adult female swan is called a pen, and baby swans are called cygnets (from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little").

http://www.myswan.org.au/index.php/testimonials/15/

The Black Swan is protected under the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

2015-05-11T02:23:39+00:00

The Black Swan is protected under the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

http://www.myswan.org.au/index.php/testimonials/32/

A colony of Black Swans in Dawlish, Devon has become so well associated with the town that the bird has been the town's emblem for

2015-05-11T02:23:29+00:00

A colony of Black Swans in Dawlish, Devon has become so well associated with the town that the bird has been the town's emblem for

http://www.myswan.org.au/index.php/testimonials/31/

The current global population of black swans is estimated to be up to 500,000 individuals.

2015-05-11T02:23:19+00:00

The current global population of black swans is estimated to be up to 500,000 individuals.

http://www.myswan.org.au/index.php/testimonials/30/

Black swans occur over large parts of Australia, with estimates of their range varying from 1 to 10 million square kilometers.

2015-05-11T02:23:10+00:00

Black swans occur over large parts of Australia, with estimates of their range varying from 1 to 10 million square kilometers.